Ateneo star forward Larry Fonacier will be up and about in a month and will be back in actual action in six months after a successful ACL operation last Wednesday. Sadly, however, there won’t be enough time for him to return to the UAAP basketball tournament where his team is expected to struggle with his absence.
Noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. Raul Canlas had a happy prognosis for the college star after performing a 40-minute operation on Fonacier’s torn ACL at the St. Luke’s Hospital in Quezon City.
Fonacier incurred the season-ending injury last Saturday during Ateneo’s game against University of the Philippines which the Eagles won.
According to Canlas, the operation on the left knee of Fonacier’s anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) "went on smoothly.’’ Canlas did the operation just hours after arriving from Singapore where he also performed a similar procedure on another patient.
"We started at a little after four in the afternoon and it was all over by 5 p.m.,’’ said Canlas.
Ten years ago, the injury suffered by the 6-3 Fonacier would have ended his career, "but because of the advancements in science’’ making a full recovery from this type of injury is as almost as easy as shaking off the effects of a sprained ankle.
Canlas,who is also the head doctor of Philippine teams to international meets, including the coming Athens Olympic Games, performed the operation gratis. He said he did not charge a doctor’s fee on Fonacier having performed similar operations free of charge to other collegiate players. Normally, a procedure of this nature costs between
R60,000-R70,000.
"In six months time, he will be ready to play competitive basketball,’’ Canlas assured.
Fonacier, who is in his final year at Ateneo, taking up Masters in Communication, will be subjected to a month of rehabilitation before being given the green light to return to active play.
He was a vital cog in Ateneo’s title victory in 2002 when he joined hands with Enrico Villanueva and Rich Alvarez, who are now both in the professional league.
